Many businesses derive large portions of their revenues from sales of products or goods using advertising directed toward children. Vendors of products which require external packaging often wish to package their products in containers which themselves hold some appeal for children. Many schemes have been used for this purpose, including, for example, application of some sort of fanciful decoration to the exterior of a box or other container in which the product is presented to the consumer.
This marketing trend has been particularly apparent in the fast food restaurant industry. Due to the high level of competition in the fast food industry and the relative standardization of many of the food products for which a consumer demand exists, competing restaurant chains frequently seek to attract customers through promotional advertising. One tactic that is sometimes used by fast food chains in conjunction with such promotional advertising is to provide a children's game or toy along with the meal. By so doing, restauranteurs hope that advertising directed at children which focuses on the game or toy rather than the food will result in increased sales.
For such child directed promotions to be successful, it is imperative that the toy included with the meal be of nominal additional cost to avoid unduly increasing the overall cost to the consumer of the food product and to avoid eroding the restauranteurs' profits. As the food must be presented to customers in some sort of packaging to insure cleanliness and ease of handling, the ideal approach to such promotional sales is to incorporate the toy into the food packaging itself, thereby minimizing the added expense of the toy.
The toy provided with the packaging must be safe, easy to use and fun, and should be ready to use when sold so that little or no assembly is required by the child or his parent. Likewise, any supplemental items which may be needed to play with the toy in its intended fashion should be readily available items commonly found in most households so that children may easily play with the toy without the need for parents to purchase additional items. Preferably, the toy should be of a type such that children will want to use more than one of the toys when playing. This ensures that children who have acquired one of the toys will have a continuing demand for additional toys, thereby generating repeat sales for the restauranteur or other vendor.
Blocks made of wood, plastic or the like are toys which are commonly used by children. Such toy blocks usually have regular shapes, such as a rectangular cylinder. The blocks are therefore stackable and are often used by children to create miniature structures such as walls and imaginary fortresses. However, the blocks are not generally provided with means for interconnecting adjacent stacked blocks. Hence, although the blocks may be stacked to erect walls or other structures, the resultant assemblage is relatively fragile and may be easily knocked over.
Relatively rigid structures may be created by stacking a plurality of rectangular cylinders on top of each other and thereafter interconnecting adjacent stacked cylinders. Bricks of the type used in the building industry are a typical example of rectangular cylinders which may be stacked to form a rigid structure. In this example, mortar or cement is used to interconnect adjacent bricks such that a rigid wall may be formed. However, the stacked interconnected bricks are not easily disassembled.
Stackable containers having releasable means for interconnecting adjacent stacked containers are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,749,273 to Wreghitt et al., and in U.S. Pat. No. 3,635,361 to Hays. The containers shown in these patents are not, however, suitable for inexpensive manufacture and use in retail food service handling, and they require use of devices for interconnecting adjacent containers which are not readily available in most homes.
In light of the aforementioned deficiencies, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new rectangular cylinder which may be readily stacked and interconnected by commonly available devices.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a container for use in food service which may also be used as a child's toy.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive stackable cylinder which may be constructed of disposable materials.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a stackable rectangular cylinder which may be interconnected with adjacent cylinders to form a rigid wall or similar structure but which may also be disassembled with ease.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a stackable rectangular cylinder which is a safe, inexpensive, and fun toy for use by children.